New global warming study

GLOBAL warming may be causing intensely cold winters in Britain and the USA, a study suggests.Warming in the Arctic is thought to be diverting the jet stream, leading to severe cold snaps.It may have been responsible for the unusually cold winters in the UK in 2009/10 and 2010/11 and for the record snowfall in New York and Boston during the winter of 2014/15.The jet stream is a ribbon of high-altitude winds of up to 200mph that blows across the Atlantic west to east.The position on the globe fluctuates with temperature differences between tropical and polar air masses - and it has a huge effect on the weather in Britain.Previous studies have shown that when the jet stream follows a "wavy" irregular path there are more cold weather fronts plunging south from the Arctic into mid-latitudes, bringing freezing conditions that persist for weeks at a time.When the jet stream flows strongly and steadily from west to east, winter weather is milder in the UK and other countries in the … [Read more...] about Global warming will make winters in Britain even COLDER, scientists warn

SCIENTISTS have discovered that animals "dwarfed" TWICE in Earth's history - and it could happen again.New evidence shows that mammals became smaller 54 million years ago due to global warming.University of New Hampshire scientist, Abigail D'Ambrosia, warned that mammals could shrink in the future under even faster man-made warming that's going on now.A recent study, published in Science Advances, found that when Earth warmed suddenly and naturally about 54 million years ago, three different species shrank noticeably.It claimed early horse became 14 percent smaller, dropping from about 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) to 14.6 pounds (6.6 kilograms).Unfortunately, we're not about to drop a dress size.Humans are unlikely to be affected, D'Ambrosia claimed.Shrinking is understood to be down to limited food sources.When the planet gets hotter food, meals are hard to find.Scientists suspect mammals evolved to become smaller so they don't need to eat as … [Read more...] about Scientists warn that animals could start SHRINKING thanks to global warming

In some regions, the climate is changing so quickly that forests probably won't be able to provide basic functions - such as timber production and protection from landslides and snow avalanches, as well as food, wildlife habitat and recreation - that people take for granted, scientists said at the recent annual assembly of the European Geosciences Union. "The tree line shift is something that everybody can already see, with young trees growing in new areas," said Matthias Jochner, a forest ecologist with ETH Zürich, describing his new tree-ring study across the Swiss Alps. The results support previous estimates that vegetation zones will shift upward by 500 to 700 meters (1,600 to 2,300 feet). That change will be especially noticeable at the mid-elevations, exactly where forest-dependent communities in the Alps now thrive on agriculture and tourism. At lower elevations, oaks and other broadleaf trees will start to dominate the forests, completely changing familiar landscapes. … [Read more...] about Global warming is reshaping the world’s forests

Methane emissions shot up in the previous decade, according to a new international study, which will hurt the fight against global warming. According to the study released by the Global Carbon Project, methane levels rose slowly from 2000 to 2006, then jumped ten times as fast in the following decade. There was an especially high jump in methane levels in 2014 and 2015. In that two-year period methane concentrations jumped by 10 or more parts per billion (ppb) annually, versus an average increase of 0.5ppb during the early 2000's. "We should do more about methane emissions. If we want to stay below a 2 degrees Celsius temperature increase, we should not follow this track and need to make a rapid turnaround," said Marielle Saunois, lead author of the study and assistant professor at the Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin. Methane is less prevalent in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, but it captures 28 times more heat than carbon dioxide. Saunois … [Read more...] about Higher methane levels make fight against global warming more difficult

Global warming is advancing at an "unprecedented" rate, with sustained measurements of record-setting temperatures, according to the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The trend accelerated last year - fed by the El Nino weather phenomenon - with record land and sea surface temperatures, continued sea-level rise, diminishing sea ice and the continued proliferation of extreme weather events across the globe. The continued warming through the first two months of 2016 follows a year that shattered "all previous records by a wide margin," according to a WMO study released on Monday. "The alarming rate of change we are now witnessing in our climate as a result of greenhouse gas emissions is unprecedented in modern records," said the WMO's new chief, Petteri Taalas. Dave Carlson, head of the WMO-co-sponsored World Climate Research Program, said the rising temperatures this year were especially alarming. The "startlingly high temperatures so far in 2016 have sent shockwaves … [Read more...] about Global warming accelerates, scientists renew call for action

All around the Arctic, the effects of a temperature rise are visible, and native inhabitants of the tundras in Europa, Asia and North America are struggling with the new reality. That's also true for the Saami reindeer herders on Russia's Kola Peninsula, an area bordering on Norway and Finnish Lapland. But, in Russia, climate change is not a hot-button issue, nor is much attention being paid to the upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen. Russian scientists say they have no evidence that global warming is a long-term trend, and doubt whether it is a man-made phenomenon. A Little Ice Age? In the country's northern port in the town of Murmansk, the Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences monitors life in and around the Barents Sea. The institute has amassed an impressive database concerning temperature and salinity of the sea over the course of the 20th century. Referring to the statistics, biologist Pavel Makarevich says there are clear cycles during … [Read more...] about In Russian Arctic, global warming threatens traditional way of life

After being closeted behind closed doors since Monday (23.09.2013), scientists and government representatives of the 195 UN member states came up with a 31-page summary of the report that's well over 1,000 pages long. According to this brief version published on Friday (27.09.2013), prospects are even more pessimistic than scientists had projected in 2007. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says it is 95 percent certain that mankind caused more than half the warming observed over the past 60 years. In 2007, the IPCC had rated its conviction at 90 percent. Humans produce an incredible amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) which heats up the atmosphere. CO2 levels continue to rise - just in March, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US had recorded new peak levels. Sea levels are also expected to rise at a much faster pace. The IPCC projected sea levels would rise between 26 and 82 centimeters (10.4 and 32.8 inches) by 2100. "We know much more about … [Read more...] about UN climate panel blames humans for global warming

Climate change may soon transform oceans teeming with complex life into simple ecosystems that can no longer support the billions of people relying on them as a primary source of food, according to a new study . Unabated warming and ocean acidification will devastate numbers of zooplankton and smaller fish with a knock-on effect for larger carnivorous fish, according to the meta-analysis, which combines data from more than 600 experiments measuring the effects of climate change on ecosystems. Only microorganisms are expected to increase in number and diversity. "Our analysis projects decreases in species abundance across many types of organisms. There will be a species collapse from the top of the food chain down," said Ivan Nagelkerken, lead author on the paper and ASC Future Fellow at the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute in South Australia. Warmer waters and acidity are also killing coral and oyster reefs. In the US, oyster farms are already spending large … [Read more...] about Global warming may cause ocean species collapse

With wisps of morning fog drifting across the surface of the Irrsee, ecologist Harald Ficker lowers a thermometer into the deep blue water to measure the Earth's global warming fever. Since the 1970s, the water has warmed about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) - twice as fast as the global average. Although that may be nice for early-season visitors to the popular swimming lake near Salzburg, it's not so good for fish. Global warming has been disrupting ecosystems here, and in lakes around the world. As temperatures continue to rise, that will affect fisheries, water supplies, farming, recreation and energy production - prompting scientists to consider how to make lakes more resilient to climate change. Ficker monitors lakes for the Austrian environment ministry. As he takes readings at different depths, he describes the changes. In spring, the ice has been melting a month earlier than in 1975. With the ice gone, the top layer of water heats up. Measurements show that the … [Read more...] about Can we save our lakes from global warming?

Near the end of Austria's record-hot 2015 summer, the forests above the Danube near Linz were sapped out. Dry beech and oak leaves crackled at lower elevations, where the trees baked for weeks under a dome of dry desert air. Daily highs topped 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) for 13 straight days, smashing the previous streak of five days, set during the ferociously hot summer of 2003. A little higher up, away from the river, there are fire-warning signs at the edge of an 80-hectare plantation of pines that's under attack by bark beetles. A year before, the insects claimed an even larger patch nearby. None of the old-timers in the area can remember seeing the tree-killing bugs on such a scale, naturalist Georg Schüssenegg said during a guided hike to a Danube lookout point. To the south, the glinting edge of the Alps baked under the summer sun. Throughout the region, climate trackers, as well as forest managers and firefighters, were on edge. Never had such a high fire … [Read more...] about Global warming is increasing forest fire risk in the Alps